Accounting and filing system



154 4!-rd'lllillllillillllllirvlllfllu lnillll Sept. 3, 1946. H. WESTON1 ACCOUNTING AND'FiLING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 26, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR fiF/FBf/f'f 142 570 MR ML flmu ATTORNEYS Sept. 3, 1946.

0 H. WESTON ACCOUNTING AND FILING SYSTEM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2' Filed Dec.26, 1941 RN .WN

E I 5. I K I INVENTOR. fiwazer Mara/v WQKJL 21M ATTORNEYS Sept. ,3,1946. H. WESTON ACCOUNTING AND FILING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 26, 1941 3Sheets-Sheet s ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 3, 1946 ACCOUNTING AND FILINGSYSTEM Herbert Weston, New York, N. Y.; vested in the Alien PropertyCustodian Application December 26, 1941, Serial No. 424,406

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to card indexes or card registers ofthe kind in which the index cards or sheets have certain structuralcharacteristics adapted to cooperate with portions of a container orholder for the cards to permit the positioning of the cards in relativeoifset relation whereby portions of all such cards will be visible. Moreparticularly, th invention relates to containers for the cards wherebysuch cards may be readily arranged and handled. Accounting and filingsystems of this character are disclosed and claimed in United StatesPatents No. 1,713,945 granted May 21, 1929; No.. 1,975,566 grantedOctober 2, 1934; and No. 2,192,178 granted March 5, 1940.

It has been proposed to employ slotted or apertured cards cooperatingwith supporting or positioning ribs and the like whereby the cards areoffset either vertically or horizontallywith respect to one another andin its simplest form, this arrangement involved slotting the cards alongthe lower edges thereof for horizontal offsetting as well as verticaloffsetting.

In my Patent No. 2,374,965 dated May 1, 1945,

I have proposed portable trays which were adapted to stand upon a tableor desk or be slidable in cabinets and having pivoted side walls, thebottom of the tray being provided with a number of positioning bars tobe received in the slots in the cards.

One object ofthe invention is portable carriers or trays each receivin aplurality of index cards and which may be severally disposed in acabinet in a compact arrangement while at the same time side wallportions of the portable trays are capable of angular displacement toafford inclined supporting surfaces for the cards in ready readingposition.

It is also an objectof the invention to provide portable trays or othercontainers which may accommodate cards or sheets in which the slots inthe lower edges vary in relative spacing.

Another object of the invention is a portable tray the parts of whichmay be readily assembled in mass production.

The invention also seeks constructions which are practical from thestandpoint of ease and practicability of manufacture and convenienc anddurability in use.

These and other objects of the invention and the means for theirattainment will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating variousembodiments by a 2 which the invention may be realized and in whichFigure 1 is a view in end elevation showing a portable tray of thisinvention in which the various features are incorporated, the side wallsbeing shown in open position in full lines and in closed position inbroken lines;

Figure 2 is a detail view showing a modified feature of the invention;

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the portable tray of Figure 1,parts being removed to show details of construction;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in plan looking from above in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view showing in plan a card positioning device of'thisinvention, the intermediate portion being broken away in the interest ofcompactness;

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation showing a detail of the structureshown in Figure 5 and taken in the plane indicated by the line 6-6 ofthat figure;

Figure '7 is a view in front elevation showing a cabinet within which aplurality of portable trays are disposed;

Figure 8 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken in the planeindicated by the line 88 of Figure 7 and looking in the direction of thearrows;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary view showing a detail of the tray in positionwith respect to a positioning track; and

Figure 10 is a view in perspective showing a center piece of simpleconstruction adapted to support the movable walls of the trays in acontainer.

The portable tray of this invention, indicated generally by thereference character I l, comprises a rectangular base member having abottom 12 and integral side walls [4 and the end members l6 which areof, uniform height with the other walls of the base member. The endmembers are formed at their ends with inwardly turned flanges l8 fittingbetween the side walls and, conveniently, spot welded thereto.

Pivotally mounted upon the side walls [4 are movable side members 20.These side members 20 are pivotally mounted as by elongated butt hinges22 extending substantially the length of the side walls but terminatingshort of the ends thereof. ()ne wing of the hinges 22 is secured to therespective side walls I4 and the other wing is secured to the movablesides 20 retaining the adjacent edges slightly spaced to permit movement3 of the sides outwardly past th vertical through an angle of about 20.

Outward movement of the sides 20 with respect to the side walls M islimited by engagement of the lower edge of the movable sides 20 with theupper edge of the sides M. In other words, the upper edges of the sidewalls l4 serve as stops against which the lower edges of the movablesides 23 abut when in their outwardly inclined position.

To afford more certain positioning of the movable sides 20 of theportable tray of this invention, the upper edges of the sides M areturned outwardly and the lower edges of the movable sides 29 are alsoturned outwardly as shown at 24 in Figure 2, so that these two outwardlyturned edges engage one another and the lowermost cut wardly turned edgeserves as a stop engageable by the outwardly turned edge of the movableside members 22, and thus hold these movable sides 20 in position asinclined surfaces against which the index cards disposed in the carriermay be supported in inclined position during an examination of the cardstherein, as will be understood.

On the uppermost portion of the movable side members 2i and proximatethe upper edges thereof, the portable trays of this invention areprovided with handles 26 which are shown in Figure 3 as formed of rodsor wire bent in the form of trapezoids and of dimensions such that thehand may be passed therethrough conveniently. The adjoining ends ofthese bent rods are held in position by semi-cylindrical lugs 23 whichare socured, as b spot welding, to the movable sides 28 in closeproximity to their upper edges. By this construction, the handle can beapplied in the lug on to the side in one operation. Thus when a group ofcards is disposed within a tray and it desired to remove the tray from areceptacle and carry it to a table or desk for examination of therespective cards, the tray may be carried conveniently from one point toanother by the handles 26. Ribs 30 may be formed in the sides 25 to addstrength to the construction.

Transversely, preferably, of the longer dimension of the portable tray,the base member is provided with positioning members in the form of rodsor bars 3| engageable by the slots or cut-out portions in the bottom ofthe cards, as will be understood. These positioning members are con- 1veniently formed of round rods or wires which may be spot welded, inparallel relation, to the lowermost portions of longitudinally extendingrods or wires which serve to support the positioning bars in positionand form a ladder-like structure. The spacing of the positioning bars ofFigure 1 may be such that cards having slots of different spacings maybe positioned b the same ladder-like positioning frame. Heretofore cardsin which the slots were spaced from one another at intervals of one-halfan inch (from center to center) were accommodated by spacing the barsone-half inch apart,

Cards in which the slots were spaced from one another at intervals of aninch (from center to center) were accommodated by spacing the bars aninch apart (from center to center). In the ladder-like positioningdevice of this invention, the bars in one modification are spaced oneinch apart from center to center thus accommodating cards with slotseither spaced one-half inch where alternate slots only are engaged by abar or one inch where every slot is engaged by a bar.

Similarly, where the slots in the cards were spaced six-tenths of aninch apart; the bars were spaced six-tenths of an inch apart, while forcards having slots of one and two-tenths inches, the bars were spacedone and two-tenths inches (from center to center). According to anothermodification, the ladder-like frame of this invention is comprised ofbars spaced one and two-tenths inches apart which will accommodate cardswith slots spaced six-tenths of an inch apart as well as cards withslots spaced one and two-tenths of an inch apart. These four spacingsare those most commonly required and by this invention only two sizes ofladder-like frames are required instead of four as would be the case ifthe prior art were followed. For convenience and cheapness ofmanufacture,'the members of the ladderlike frame are shown as made ofwire but it will be obvious that other structural shapes may be availedof, if desired. The bars 3| are supported from the under side oflongitudinal frame memhere 32. To support these bars at the desireddistance above the bottom of the portable tray so that the bottom edgesof the cards may rest on the bottom of the tray and be merely positionedand not supported by the bars, the bars may be provided with lugs 33spot welded thereto adjacent the respective ends of the bars which raisethe bars a predetermined distance above the bottom of the portable tray.

In the interest of convenience of manufacture and assembly, the bars orthe ladder-like frame are not secured to the bottom of the tray as inthe prior art but the ladder-like structure of Figure 5, separatelyformed as a unit, is insertable and removable in the portable trays.This affords not only ease of manufacture but permits replacement andsubstitution of th bars in a container to fit or accommodate itself tothe particular disposition of slots in the cards which may be used in aparticular tray. Thus, the ladder-like structure is insertable andremovable from the container in the following manner: To position thebars properly in the bottom of the tray, the ends of the longitudinallyextending wires 32 are bent outwardly, as at 35, and extend outwardlyfrom the outermost bars so that there is some degree of movementpermissible due to resiliency. The transverse dimension or spacing ofthe outer edges of these outwardly bent ends of the supporting bars aresuch as to snugly fit within the space defined by the side walls [4 ofthe tray and to permit these bars to be readily positioned in and heldin place or removed from th bottom of the tray by flexing the wires 32.The hinges 22 which support the movable sides 28 from the side walls I 4of the base terminate a suflicient distance short of the ends it of thetray to permit this ladder-like member to be passed downwardly betweenthe end of the hinges and the ends [6 to assume a position resting uponthe bottom of the tray with the ends 35 yieldingly held against thesides M, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4. It has heretofore been proposedto prevent the cards slipping on the surface, and thus being displaced,by applying a piece of fabric, such as canvas, on the surface on whichthe cards stand. Adhesive is required to secure the fabric in place anddifficulty is experienced in the application of the fabric because thefabric stretches. It is therefore proposed that the bottom of the trayson which the cards rest be provided with a wrinkle finish as by athickened lacquer. In Patent No. 2,374,965, a table or the like isillustrated on which is mounted a rotatable cabinet adapted to contain aplurality of portable trays. Such a cabinet 31 is illustrated in Figure7 and is representative,

for the purpose of this application, either of the turn-table of theapplication or a drawer or any other receptacle for portable trays. Thelength, which is the transverse direction as viewed in Figure 7, issufiicient to receive th portable trays H transversely and any number ofsuch trays may be incorporated in the cabinet along its length althoughin Figure '7, in the interest of compactness of illustration, only twosuch trays are illustrated. The drawer or cabinet of Figure '7 isprovided with end walls 439 which are fixed in position and a rear wall4| similarly fixed in position while the front wall, not shown, may, asin the Patent No. 2,374,965, if desired although not necessarily, bepivoted to move downwardly out of the way to permit the portable trays Hto be drawn outwardly in a horizontal direction and thus avoid thenecessity of lifting them out of the box-like cabinet 3|. It is providedat each end with an inclined inner surface 43 on the end walls 39 topermit the sides I4 of the portable trays and the cards 45 therein to beshifted from one inclined position through a vertical position to theopposite inclined position in order that an examination may be made ofdesired cards when in position in the cabinet.

Similarly, there is shown, midway between the ends of the cabinet whatis termed a center piece or partition indicated generally at 41 havinginclined walls against which the movable sides 20 of the portable traysl I may rest to likewise facilitate the shifting of the cards while inthe cabinet. Such a member 41 may be inserted anywhere in a cabinet totake the place of a tray that has been removed. In the illustratedembodiment, this intermediate wall member 41 with the inclined walls isa removable member and is also formed of wire. Conveniently each end ofthe removable member is formed of a continuous piece of wire consistingof a transverse bottom portion 49 from which the portions 5| areupwardly bent at right angles thereto and then angularly bent asinclined portions 53 to unite in a reversely bent curved upper portion55 as they gradually approach one another. The two curved portions ofeach end are united by a longitudinally ex tending wire 51. The bottomends are united by wires 59 running longitudinally. Longitudinal wiresBl parallel thereto unite the ends of the vertical wire portions.Transverse wires 66 unite the respective longitudinal wires 6|. All ofthese wires are conveniently spot Welded together to form a rigid butremovable frame which can be moved from place to place as desired in thecabinet or remain stationary at the center to support the movable sides20 when the contents of a particular portable tray is to be examined.

It will be observed that the side walls 20 of the portable trays arecapable of a movement through an angle of about 30 on each side of avertical plane including the side walls M of the trays. This is madepossible by the type of hinge connection illustrated and by thepredetermined length and relation of the abutments or stops 24 on theside walls of the trays. Furthermore, by placing the hinged connectioninwardly of the plane of the side walls, close positioning of the traysis possible, but adjacent trays are not required to afford support forthe sides of one another.

To prevent a tray from tipping over and to guide the trays in and out ofthe cabinet, tracks 66 are provided. These take the form of angle ironsextending transversely of the cabinet.

These tracks 65 are arranged back to back, Figure 7, on the bottom ofthe cabinet so that the trays are supported on the horizontal flangesthereof. The free edges of the vertical sides of the angles terminateshort of or substantially in the same horizontal plane as the upperedges of the side 54 of the trays intermediate the upper and lower edgesof these angles the edges are pressed outwardly to form elongatedrecesses 68 which are engaged by ribsle on the adjacent tray sides Hl.Each tray can be readily pulled out of the cabinet without obstructionoffered by adjacent trays. In Figure 8, the tracks extend, asillustrated, forwardly to what may be considered the front or open sideof the cabinet and the upper edges 12 of these tracks are substantiallyhorizontal for the rear half thereof. From the midpoint toward thefront, as at 14, the tracks decrease progressively in height to thefront edge to facilitate the entrance and removal of the portable tray.

The purpose and operation of the several features of the invention havebeen described in conjunction with the description of the several partsand no further description of the operation of the device is deemednecessary. Sufiice it to say that card index cabinets have been providedwhich are readilymanufactured in a simple fashion to meet everyrequirement of business and in which many mechanical changes may be madewithout the use of tools.

Various modifications will occur to those skilled in the art in thecomposition, configuration and disposition of the component elementsgoing to make up the invention as a whole as well as in the selectionand combination of particular features to satisfy specific situationsand no limitation is intended by the phraseology of the foregoingdescription or illustrations in the accompanying drawings except asindicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a receptacle for card indexing devices comprising a container,positioning means for Cards comprising a ladder-like structure havinglongitudinally extending members formed with outwardly bent ends toengage the side walls of the container, transversely extendingpositioning members secured in predetermined spaced relation below thelongitudinally extending members and lugs on the transversely extendingpositioning members to support the ladder-like structure at apredetermined distance above the bottom of the container.

2. In a receptacle for card indexing devices, in combination, a portabletray for cards disposed in echelon comprising a rectangular bottomhaving upwardly extending sides and movable side walls hingedlyconnected to opposed sides, and a unitary ladder-like member adapted toremovably fit within the bottom and comprising a pair of laterallyspaced longitudinally extending relatively resilient rod-like members,and a plurality of transversely extending rod-like card positioningmembers disposed in spaced relation and secured proximate their ends tothe longitudinally extending members, the ends of said longitudir nallyextending members being outwardly bent to yieldingly engage the sidewalls of the tray to removably position the ladder-like member in thetray, whereby the ladder-like member may be manually inserted andretained in position and manually removed.

HERBERT WESTON.

